Known the world over for creating the eric johnson violin tone and as one of two main pedals used by david gilmour. Shown above left to right the 1985 bk butler tube driver, the revised 198687 bk butler tube driver, the unauthorized 1988 knockoff made by chandler after butler parted ways with them, the 1990s tube works 911 tube driver, and a b. Tube driver original by bk butler with bias control. Bk butler tube driver perf and pcb effects layouts.
Tube driver blue tdb275, tdb2150, tdb475 and tdb575 amplifiers are now available. Each one is hand made and checked out carefully by bk himself. The mini boogeemini matrix circuit included two 12ax7 preamp tubes. Please practice handwashing and social distancing, and check out our resources for adapting to these times. The blue channel is round and chewy the middle channel with no clipping gives you that nice low gain tube overdrive the red channel reminds me of a high gain el34 brit sound. So since i did a layout for the tubeworks 903 i thought to myself if its basically a tube preamp i thought why couldnt the tone stack be modded to that of some legendary amps. This pedal is legendary, used by eric johnson, kenny wayne shepherd, david gilmour, and many. If youre wondering how these things sound heres a demo for you. Then i swapped out that tube with a 12au7 and it went from great to incredible. Hi guys, i will upload a schematic and pcb layout from a traced. These pedals have to be dialed in for each individual amp and guitar combination as they are relatively low output and the tube drive tends to kick in at a lower level than some pedals. It can be a little harsh and raspy and i assume that is because i still have a 12ax7 in it. Bk butler tube driver page 1 joes guitars, amps and gear. I also took a few liberties from the original using a tl072 instead of a tl071 for layout purposes and using the second opamp to buffer the voltage reference.
But looks like it originally was a schematic of the tube driver from 1986 done by mr. Well, that stock tube is still in there and it sounds glorious. Heres your chance to own this legendary holy grail of overdrive pedals. It uses a 12ax7 which is pushed by a dual opamp followed by a fenderstyle tone stack. Butler designed tube driver circuit with some component differences. The cornish mode sounds more like something in between a bk butler tube driver and cornish g2 tone, but perhaps a bit too thin and nasally. The distortion on my first td was a bit too rough at low drive settings for my taste, so i swapped out several different 12au7 tubes.
A bk butler tube driver fabbed board would be great handmade ones suck, really hard to get them right. The b k butler tube driver has been used by several of rock. Compatible with all electric guitars and amplifiers. Find great deals on ebay for bk butler tube driver and bk butler tube driver bias. The only other problem i have had is getting it to cut through in a band situation. A page about gilmours tube drivers can be found here here david gilmour tones david gilmour has been an avid tube driver user since the 1990s. Baja real tube driver 12v dc online stripboard layout editor. Hi guys, i will upload a schematic and pcb layout from a traced chandler tube driver soon. The real tube includes a mid range knob, allowing for a wider range of tones to be dialed in. Secrets revealedwhats inside this bk butler tube driver real. I kept the power section from john ks version of the blue tube. The next year brent decided he needed to put his name on his pedals so they were properly labeled tube driver, concept and design. The pedal dominates both division bell and on an island. I bought a bk butler tube driver 5 years ago with the intention of swapping out the stock tube.
It is unmarked, other than bk written on it with a sharpie. This pedal is legendary, used by eric johnson, kenny wayne. This is the original model, designed by bk butler, built by chandler industries with the power supply built. It depends on what tone youre looking for but it has a very narrow clean response and it can be a bit bassy and have that woofy boomy sound as well. Oct 27, 2008 20111119 guitar tube overdrive bk butler tube driver strat demo by jokeandrazz 20121020 b. For the bias control my favorite settings are maximum for gilmour tones and 10 notches below maximum for my original tones, which is roughly 2. Butler then reworked the design again, combining an opamp operational amplifier or. In many ways in changed his tones from being bright and aggressive to smoother and warmer. What other items do customers buy after viewing this item.
Tube driver is widely recognized as the only successful and practical highpowered vacuum tubedriven amplifier ever made. Its kind of like having a section of your amp right in a pedal. An ongoing library of perf board and pcb layouts for hundreds of effects circuits. Tube driver is widely recognized as the only successful and practical highpowered vacuum tube driven amplifier ever made.
Bk butler tubeworks blue tube bass driver whos using. Some used 4 knob tube drivers marked chandler are not the original design by bk butler. Heres the tube driver made famous by david gilmour. I have a page about gilmours various tube drivers and settings here.
Another version of the muff diver called the finale included a switchable input cap setup, identical to the cornishoriginal switch in the standard muff diver. Nov 02, 2016 nov 2, 2016 bk butlerchandler tube driver current draw. This is a pedal that has been around for over thirty years and has become a longstanding favorite amongst some of the most elite players in the business for its smooth distortion and boost capabilities. The tube driver houses a preamp tube and it generates distortion by overdriving the tube rather than conventional pedal methods.
The tube driver is not an extremely versatile pedal but what it does it does very well. With the provided drill template, the board dropped right in. Known the world over for creating the eric johnson violin tone and as. Hi andrea, i have the bk butler tube driver with bias mod as well, i use a nos yugo real tube tho 12ax7. The layout included is for an offboard tube socket not mounted on the pcb. Turn the knob clockwise to increase and counterclockwise to decrease the amount of overdrive gain. Nov 2, 2016 bk butlerchandler tube driver current draw. Overall in great shape considering the age of the pedal. Bk butlers original hand made tube driver guitar pedal used by eric johnson, david gilmour, billy gibbons, joe satriani, kenny wayne.
If you havent heard tube driver blue, you dont know how great sound can be in your car. The stock tube that ships with the 911 tube driver made since 2006 is a golden dragon 12ax7 a low noise, hifi preamp tube. The bk butler 911 tube driver has been one of those items for me. The baja tube driver is basically a replica reverse engineered bk butler tube. I love that you can dial down the bass and get that nice overdriven crunch. This is a selfverified layout of the famous baja version of the bk butlerchandler tube drive. Compare to bk butler tube driver all trademarks and registered trademarks are the property of their respective owners. Jan 24, 20 bk butler tube overdrive pedal image courtesy of. Bk butler tube driver page 1 joes guitars, amps and. Bk butler tube driver txba gear index texas blues alley. During its long life the tube driver has appeared in many forms. Classic voicing provides the kind of gain you need for amazingly crunchy. This rack is an updated and more costeffective design from the originator of the tube driver concept, b.
Feb 28, 2012 the b k butler tube driver has been used by several of rock guitars greats david gilmour and eric johnson to name just two. Heart of the tube driver is a real handselected 12ax7 tube by bk butler himself. The b k butler tube driver has been used by several of rock guitars greats david gilmour and eric johnson to name just two. The company, product, and service names used in this web site are for comparative purposes only. The tube driver is our own creation following the bk butler or chandler models but taking it to new levels regarding flexibility and noise reduction. This is the original model, designed by bk butler, built by chandler industries with the power supply built in. I definitely need to try a 12at7 or a 12au7 in mine. Voicing switch this switches between the overdrives two voicings. Butler tube driver real tube overdrive effects database. Real tube by tube works other than one being in super cool enclosure, and the other in a buttugly enclosure, the 4 knob 911 tube drivers and 5 knob real tube versions are basically the same patented b. Ive looked to compile the best and most reliable for this post. I found this one at guitar resurrection in austin texas. The b k butler tube driver has been used by several of rock guitars greats.
Hats off to pedalpcb for a great design and layout. Heart of the tube driver is a real handselected 12ax7 tube by bk butler himself controls. We are confident this unit will be a welcome addition to your tube sound. Its a great tube drive and im very happy i happened upon it, thanks duke i dont use the blue tube much for drive but i do dial a little bit of dirt into the signal. Jul 02, 2016 i have a page about gilmours various tube drivers and settings here. Sep 02, 2014 the tube driver is not an extremely versatile pedal but what it does it does very well. I am on again off again with my bk butler tube driver wbias mod. The original project runs on an 16v ac adapter so chances are that the original will sound better than my 12v dc version. The tube driver is a holy grail type pedal, but many people, especially younger players, have never heard of it. The b k butler tube driver has been used by several of. Tubeworks real tube 903 modded tone stacks so as most of you guys know when im studying for exams i tend to do a bunch of layouts when taking breaks to keep my sanity. But the blue tube will be part of my collection for years to come, its a great keeper the way it is stock imo.
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